After
by liquefiedcake
Summary: After the Governor attacks the prison, Beth and Daryl must survive together. One quiet night, they realize they love each other. Bethyl / BethxDaryl
1. After

It was a quiet night, there was only the sounds of crickets and the crackling fire burning before their eyes. Daryl glanced at her beautiful blue eyes, which were reflecting the light from the fire, making them even more beautiful. There were many moments of silence, the tension growing with each passing second. "I never really loved Zach or Jimmy…" Beth finally said, wrapping her arms around her legs and placing her head on her knees. She chuckled, drawing out how they died in her mind, based on what she was told. "Guess I was just looking for comfort. Something to take my mind off of everythin'. I didn't even cry over them…" once again there was silence, "Don't think bout' that." Daryl told her, seeing tears form in her eyes. He scooted over to her and wrapped one arm around her neck, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

Tears rolled down Beth's cheeks, and as soon as Daryl noticed, he placed himself in front of her and cupped his hands around her cheeks "It wasn't your fault. There ain't nothin to be upset about." he said, trying to comfort her, but she looked down and shook her head. "No, I'm just afraid about losin' you" she gave him no time to take in what she said, she just leaned in and kissed him, and it was almost as if the world fell apart. This wasn't at all like Jimmy or Zach, this was _Daryl_, and the kiss felt so, _so_ right. Then they pulled away, gazing into each other's eyes. "I love you." Beth whispered, not taking her eyes off him. "I love you too." Daryl whispered back, pulling Beth in for another kiss.


	2. Chapter 2: Blood and Bruises

The next night Beth and Daryl were eating dinner. "No Daryl." Beth told him for the hundredth time. She stared at the jar of pigs feet, wanting to throw up with each passing second. "Come on! Be open minded!" Daryl yelled at Beth, waving one in her face trying to get her to try the pigs feet. "For the last time. I'm not going to-" Beth tried to get out, but she was interrupted by someone's voice, a _familiar _voice.

"Beth!" Carl yelled, running up to Beth and wrapping his arms around her. He was glad to see her again. _Very_ glad to see her again. "Hey Carl," Daryl said, "What's up?" even though Carl had only hugged Beth, he was still getting a little bit pissed off. She was _his_.

Beth saw the stern look on Daryl's face, and she quickly pulled away from Carl, putting a distance of about three feet between them. "So, we were just eating dinner. Do you want anything?" she asked Carl, sitting down on the ground beside Daryl. "Sure" he replied, placing himself on the opposite side of the fire.

She handed Carl half of the snake she was eating. "So… Uh, you're single now... right?" Carl asked Beth, clueless of the fact that she was with Daryl. "Nope." Daryl answered for her, not even glancing at Carl. "Yeah, I know that she was with Zach, but-" "She's not single." he said one last time, shooting a look. Carl looked from Daryl to Beth, and she avoided his stare. "Oh" Carl sighed, pissed off. Everyone sat around the fire in complete silence for a couple minutes, and things were getting awkward. "Well, I'm going to bed." Beth said as she stood up and walked into her tent. Once she was inside, she zipped the tent back up and curled into her sleeping bag.

Daryl stood up and grabbed his crossbow, he needed to kill something instead of Carl. "Tell her I'll be back by dawn." he said, walking into the woods.

Carl waited and waited. There was nothing to do right then. Then he thought about Beth. He thought about how nice her lips would feel against his, and how silky her hair would be as he ran his own hand through it. Then he thought about how she was with Daryl, and how she would get mad if he killed him. He couldn't leave Beth behind here and go find something to beat up on. There was only one other option, one that he was not very fond of, but he was so mad he was starting to go insane.

Beth rolled from side to side, not being able to get to sleep. She wanted Daryl to be there with her, to keep her warm. Suddenly she heard the tent zip open, and she smiled as she thought of Daryl, but when she saw the dark figure in front of her, she was slightly confused. "Carl?"

He stepped into the tent with her, zipping up the tent once more, not giving any explanation to what was going on. "Carl, what are you doing in-" he slapped her across the cheek as hard as he could, taking out his anger. "Ow!" Beth cried out, "What the hell?!" Carl held her down and started slamming his fists into her head over and over. Beth struggled and her eyes filled with tears as she squealed. Carl held his hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound of her cries. "You. Are. MINE!" he yelled, pulling her shirt off, and throwing it into the corner of the tent. Just as he was about to continue, Daryl tore open the tent with his knife, looking from side to side to find the source of the high pitched squeals he had heard. His head turned to Carl, who was placed on top of a shirtless Beth, her eyes filled with tears and her head covered in bruises and cuts.

Daryl grabbed Carl by his neck and threw him out of the tent, shooting an arrow in his leg as he ran away. "IF I EVER SEE A GLIMPSE OF YOUR DAMN FACE AGAIN, YOU'RE GONNA GET MORE THAN JUST AN ARROW IN YOUR LEG!" Daryl screamed at Carl. He quickly grabbed another shirt from his bag and used it to replace the hole in the tent.

Daryl then glanced over at Beth, who had tears streaming down her face. He ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms, tucking her head into his chest. Beth sobbed into Daryl's shirt, soaking it in blood and tears. "Sh.. Shh.." he whispered, trying to calm her down, "He's gone now, and he's not coming back." he better not be coming back, he thought, looking down at his broken angel. After a little while, she calmed down and fell asleep in Daryl's arms. He smiled at her face as she slept. He didn't care that she was covered in blood and bruises.


	3. Chapter 3: Sleeping Beauty

Daryl stared at Beth's pale blue eyes as she lay motionless on the floor of the tent. He knew that other night was really, _really_ rough for her, but she needed to eat, she needed to drink. She hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in a week. Instead, she just laid motionless in shock. He remembered way back at the farm, when this had happened before. Daryl chuckled when he thought about the story Maggie had told her, about the pink and green candies, and Beth thought they were pills. Everyone thought he wasn't listening, but hey, just because this is the apocalypse doesn't mean that stories don't spread.

He stopped laughing when he looked down at Beth, her face still covered in blood and bruises. If he ever saw Carl again, he'd be dead.

Daryl decided to lighten the mood with a game, even though Beth wouldn't play. He knew she was listening, she just chose not to reply. He grabbed a bottle of moonshine from his bag, pouring it into two separate glasses. "I've never…" he tried to think of something that he'd never done before. "I've never worn a 'friendship' bracelet." he finally came up with. He waited a long time, knowing that Beth wouldn't reply. "I've never had another girlfriend-besides you." he smiled, and once again waited. "I've never had someone like you…" he said, frowning.

_What if she never comes back to reality? _He thought, tears coming to his eyes. Daryl grasped Beth's hand, waiting, and waiting. She didn't even flinch. Her hand was clammy and weak, it felt like a doll's hand. Daryl brought Beth's fingers up to his lips and kissed each of them one by one. He did the same with her other hand.

Daryl moved his hand down to Beth's wrist to find her pulse, and even though she seemed dead, she was alive. She was definitely alive. He always knew that she was strong, stronger than anyone he'd ever met, but all of that was going to be ripped away from him if she didn't eat or drink.

He kept his hand on her wrist, tapping his foot to the beat of her pulse. He got so caught up in the beat that he didn't notice it slowing down, and stopping. Daryl only noticed when her hand got extremely cold.

"Beth…" Daryl let out, choking on his tears. "Beth, wake up." he said, shaking her. "Wake up." tears came to his eyes "Hey, it- it's time to get up now." she didn't wake up. He shook her harder "You can't leave me here like this." he said, finally bursting out into tears." he finally realized that she was dead, and now she was just a cold, dead, corpse.

And if these were going to be her last moments not as a walker, then he was going to make the most of it.

Daryl leaned in and gave her a kiss. Why'd it have to be her? Why couldn't have it been him?

Still locked in kiss, Beth reached her hands up and placed them on either side of Daryl's cheeks. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you." she said, smiling.

"You woke up…" he said, pulling back and staring into her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just your little sleeping beauty."


	4. Chapter 4: No Comedian

"Hey, wake up." Daryl said, trying to wake Beth up. She still slept. He tried shaking her awake, and he jumped back when she instantly snapped awake. Before he knew it, Beth's knife was held up to his own neck. "Hey… Put the knife down…" he slowly wrapped his hands around her own, and pushed the knife away. "Sorry, I guess I've been a bit jumpy lately…" she said softly, remembering that night a couple weeks ago. "A little?" Daryl grumbled, looking away from her. It was just then when he realized how close they were. Their bodies were inches away from each other, and then he realized that Beth was only wearing an oversize tank top and her panties. "Uh…" Daryl mumbled, blushing. "What are you looking a-" Beth tried to say, but her hands covered her mouth as she realized what she was wearing, and she could feel herself blushing. Beth immediately put her clothes on at the speed of light and put a distance of five feet between Daryl and herself, still blushing.

"Wait…Why didn't you just wear your normal clothes to bed?" Daryl asked Beth, moving closer. "I- It was hot in here! Okay? I was sweating like crazy!" she yelled at him, trying to get him to back off. "Mm hm." he said, crossing his arms and getting closer. Daryl kissed her lips for a few seconds, and then pulled back. "Tell me the _truth._" he said, trying to piss her off. "Ugh! I hate you!" she screamed at him before storming out of the tent. Daryl patted himself on the back, "Well done Daryl, well done." he smirked before following her.

"Hey, wait for me!" he called out to her as she stormed off into the woods. Beth started kicking a tree. "What are ya doin?" Daryl asked her, pulling her away from the tree. "Ugh! Leave me alone!" she yelled, shrugging his hand off of her shoulder. She was so mad, but yet she still wanted him more than anything in the entire world. "Can't we take it slow…?" she mumbled, not looking at him. "Whatever you want." Daryl said, kissing Beth's forehead. He looked at her one last time, and then walked back to their camp. Beth liked Daryl's "jokes", but he was no comedian.


	5. Chapter 5: I'll Keep You Warm

After the day before, Beth insisted sleeping in another tent. That night, a huge thunderstorm comes.

Beth rolled from side to side, she had always had a fear of thunder. She kept reaching out her arms, searching for Daryl, but could never find him. _Bang! _more loud thunder roared above her tent. Maybe this was a mistake.

Daryl was fast asleep, dreaming of Beth and him dancing along to music, which made him smile in his sleep. "Daryl" his eyes fluttered open, "Daryl open up." he heard a soft voice say. He quickly got out of his sleeping bag and unzipped the tent. Beth was soaking wet, her clothes drenched in rain. Daryl pulled her into the tent and zipped the tent back up. He immediately started searching for some dry clothes, "I thought you wanted to sleep in a different tent." Daryl said, grabbing a dry shirt that was much too big for Beth, but it was better than nothing. "I know… But I'm just scared of thunder…" she whispered as more thunder crashed above them. Daryl pulled off Beth's wet shirt and quickly slid his shirt on her. She looked so cute, so small. "Thank y-" she attempted to say, but she stopped as Daryl laid down, pulling Beth down with him. He pulled her against him, he could still feel her shivering. Daryl pulled the sleeping bag over them, "I'll keep you warm.".

**Short chapter. Don't fret, I'll try to get much more up soon. One more thing; I was thinking about starting a collection of one shots based on prompts that you guys want to see. And yes, they will be Bethyl. So don't waste any time. PM me some prompts you want to see! The one shot collection will be starting 3/25/15 at the earliest (or whenever someone sends me a prompt). **


	6. Chapter 6: Stolen

**Sorry everyone! I might be going on hiatus for a while, but if I do I'll still try to write a couple chapters now and then! Enjoy the chapter :)**

Daryl could feel himself waking up, waking up to the world that had gone to hell. But through all the tiredness, he could hear a faint scream from outside the tent. "_Daryl!" _he immediately recognized the voice, _her _voice. Just like that he snapped awake and sat up in the tent. The door was zipped wide open, and using his tracking skills, Daryl could tell that there had definitely been a struggle. He walked out of the tent with crossbow swung around his shoulder. "Beth!"

Daryl searched for hours, not caring what time it was. He would search forever if it meant being with Beth again.

It was late at night, but still the leaves crunched beneath his feet. "_If you don't have hope, what's the point of living?" _That was the one line that he had remembered Beth had said. Unfortunately for Daryl, _Beth _was his hope, and she had been ripped from his life. But he wouldn't give up. He wouldn't give up on finding her until he found her dead body.

* * *

He walked and tracked until his legs were numb and he was on the verge of going insane. But no- he wouldn't stop walking until he found her- or what was left of her… Either way, it was his main goal.

* * *

_Daryl… , _she could only think about him. How he must be worried sick about where she was, but it wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault at all that Carl Grimes had dragged her out of her tent the night before.


	7. Chapter 7: Missing - Day 1

**Yeah… decided not to go on hiatus… :) **

**Day One: Missing - Daryl's Journal**

* * *

_It feels like I haven't seen her in forever even though it's only been less than a day. But all I can think about is who took her… Maybe it was some bandits? Maybe it was Carl… I swear, if he took her he's gonna die when I first catch sight of him! I really hope that she got away and she's coming home soon. Home… I never thought of "home" since the world went to shit. Hell, I don't think I ever had a home since forever. But this is different. Beth is my home. Beth is my everything. And now that she's gone, I'm just walking on an invisible path that only I can see._

**Day One: Missing - Beth's Journal**

* * *

_I'm cold. I'm blindfolded. I miss Daryl. It's killing me and I want to go back home to him. Daryl, Daryl, Daryl, Daryl. I feel like if I say his name over and over, he'll come and find me, but so far it's not working. I don't know what Carl is doing. I don't know why he's acting so crazy… He's starting to scare me. I know I already should be, considering that other night… but everyone deserves a second chance. He wasted it. But I don't have any time to think about it, because I soon feel a sharp pain in my neck and I go to sleep._


	8. Chapter 8: Missing - Day 2

**Day Two: Missing - Daryl's Journal**

* * *

_I'm so tired. If I don't get Beth back soon I might literally die. I can't live without her. I still have to find her. She's counting on me to find her! I can't just give up. But I'm only human. I bleed when I fall down. I crash and I break down. But now is not the time to do so. I need to find Beth. I need to find her no matter what happens. Especially since I can feel droplets on my head. A thunderstorm is coming._

**Day Two: Missing - Beth's Journal**

* * *

_I woke up, and I'm so scared. It's thundering and raining where I am. I wonder if it's raining where Daryl is too? It probably is… He couldn't be that far away… right? By now I'm not as scared of the thunder but I'm more scared of the voices I could hear. I could hear Carl talking, and other men too. I could hear them talking about me, but their voices were muffled by the thunder. I could hear them talking about a deal. That's all. After a while I could hear someone walking around me, and soon my hands were zip tied together. They grab me roughly by the arm and lead me through the forest. I don't know where they're leading me, but I don't want to find out._


	9. Chapter 9: Missing - Day 3

It had been three days since Beth was taken. Daryl was really starting to get pissed off.

He walked through the forest, walking around trees and trying to find more tracks since the ones during the storm had got wiped out.

**Hour 1 - Day 3**

* * *

Nothing

**Hour 2 - Day 3**

* * *

Nothing…

**Hour 3 - Day 3**

* * *

Tracks! Deer tracks…

**Hour 4 - Day 3**

* * *

He had searched for so long. Three days and four hours in counting. Daryl had had enough. He lay down on the leafy floor of the forest and just stared at the sky. He was never going to find her. Daryl could feel the tears running down his face, but he really didn't care. He just laid there, staring at the sky, wondering if there was any point in this. He wondered if she was even alive. Beth had to be alive though, she wasn't just another person. She wasn't just a survivor. She was strong. She was the only hope left for humanity in this world. So as Daryl stood up to keep searching, he saw tracks, and without any second thought, he ran beside them, knowing that Beth would be wherever they ended.


	10. Author's Note

Hey guys. It's been a while, hasn't it? You probably thought this was an update, so I'm sorry about that. I've tried to continue my bethyl fanfictions multiple times, but I could never think up an original story line that I was interested in writing. Along with that, I've also moved on from bethyl as a ship recently. I'm watching new shows, such as Supergirl, and though I still do watch the Walking Dead, it's much harder to write stories about bethyl when Beth is dead. I've recently also been questioning my sexuality, and after thinking for three long years, have realized that I am in fact a lesbian. You may be wondering, "What does that have to do with anything?" Well, I can tell you that it's been harder to write and read fanfictions or books that focus around straight couples. It's much harder to relate to those ships and see the chemistry than it is to write about lesbian ships (by the way, I totally recommend "Colorblind" by Siera Maley). One of the reasons I watch Supergirl is because of Alex and Maggie, who are just an adorable couple (Supercorp, too). I've also been writing my own short novels on Wattpad, and I've been moving away from fanfiction (username is liquefiedcake on Wattpad if you wanna check that out).

Anyway, that's it. I'm pretty much done with bethyl. I might try writing some fanfiction for Alex and Maggie, but that's also highly unlikely.


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